A Point Made
by Morninglight
Summary: Sequel to 'An Encounter Ordained'. Lia gives Jarl Balgruuf the Greater something to think about.


Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I can't seem to stop shipping Lia/Balgruuf, even if it's temporary and/or one-sided!

…

Jarl Balgruuf the Greater was a rangy man with neatly braided platinum-blond hair who lounged on his comfortable gilded throne beneath the skull of Nu-Miin-Nax, called Numinex in the common parlance, with all the indolence only the truly powerful could manage. He glittered with gold and fine furs, his face long and worn beneath a circlet of rubies and gold, and his ice-blue eyes shone with an edge as keen as the blades Farkas and Vilkas wielded. Lia had been such men in High King Sura's court and met their gaze easily, for she was of the Alik'r for all her outland blood, descended from Cyrus and his sister, and her outland blood came from the oldest Colovian clans that dated from the Akaviri Dragonguard. Her lineage wasn't quite as old as Balgruuf's but it was venerable enough, and so she met the Jarl's eyes calmly.

"She speaks the truth about Avenicci, my Jarl," Farengar Secret-Fire, the court wizard, observed quietly after Lia had told her story under the effects of a truth-finding spell.

"I believe her," the Jarl agreed, looking off in the distance. Interestingly enough, he was holding this audience without his Steward, who was on some business in Solitude. His huscarl, a fiery-eyed Dunmer named Irileth, regarded Lia with the wary respect an Alik'r deserved.

"A Thrice-Folded Alik'r who ties her sash as a Blade," Irileth noted calmly. "An Aurelii, no less."

Balgruuf grunted at his huscarl's words. "And the daughter of Sigdrifa Stormsword, the last Shieldmaiden of Talos. The Alik'r must want this alliance with the Stormcloaks very badly."

"It's in our interests to see a free Skyrim on our north-eastern border," Lia confirmed with a wry smile. "And yes, I was trained in Blades lore. We have as much reason to see Alduin put down as you do, Jarl Balgruuf."

"No doubt." Balgruuf sighed, rubbing his beaky nose. "The Thalmor are offering a generous amount of gold for you, Lia bint Rustem al-Aurelii."

"If the price exceeds the bloodgeld I owe you, will I find myself escorted to the Embassy in chains?" Lia asked dryly.

Balgruuf turned the full force of that eagle gaze onto her, pinning her like a preserved butterfly to cork. "So long as I am Jarl of Whiterun, I will turn no man nor mer over to the Thalmor," he said fiercely. "I am gold-hungry for the sake of my people and my family, but I am still a Nord."

Lia stood her ground. Dragon's blood ran in this man, though he probably didn't know it, and her uncle had taught her how to remain tranquil even when faced with such a powerful personality. "That's some relief. My primary goal is helping Ralof Dragonborn deal with the dragons and my secondary goal an alliance with the Stormcloaks. The Empire might bring prosperity in the short term, but the White-Gold Concordat will cost Tamriel in the long term."

"The Jarls were told to accept the Concordat and like it," Balgruuf growled in response. "I was seventeen, the middle son meant to be a Steward. The Thalmor murdered my brother and father on the shores of Lake Rumare, crucifying them and burning them alive with witch-fire. I knew, even then, we'd only get a generation or two of peace before the Thalmor tried again. But I agreed, taking the Empire's gold, because it meant my sons and grandsons would be strong enough to face the Dominion."

"Hammerfell didn't have that luxury," Lia countered. She couldn't fault Balgruuf his attitude, not really, because even the Alik'r understood that it was prowess which won a battle… but resources that won the war.

"You did not. And many in Skyrim cheered when you threw the Dominion out on their ear." Balgruuf shifted on his comfortable throne. "If I had known you were here, I would have held Saadia's trial myself. She was a citizen of Whiterun and deserved that much, but your Alik'r colleagues were…"

"Overenthusiastic and will answer to our superiors in Hammerfell," Lia finished. "I have no quarrel with paying a bloodgeld, only that it will take some time. I can offer my scimitar as a bond – each Alik'r forges their own blade and to lose it without good reason is a cause for dishonour."

Balgruuf shook his head slowly. "I'll not deprive you of a weapon. There are… several bounties which need to be cleared, matters too trifling for the Companions to attend to. My niece Lydia, huscarl to Ralof Dragonborn, will accompany you to see them finished. I imagine that between the bounties for White River Watch and Halted Stream Camp, plus the loot you should be able to bring back, the bloodgeld for Saadia will be paid off."

"Given I essentially kidnapped one of your citizens to a slow and painful demise – for Talenth, Iman al-Suda will likely be smeared with honey and left for the fire ants in the Alik'r Desert – you're being remarkably… forgiving," Lia answered slowly. "Pardon the bluntness, but why?"

The Jarl's gaze was keen. "I depend on trade from all four quarters of the world. Hammerfell is a big source of my wealth because Falkreath's Jarl is…"

"Inept? Incompetent? Prone to grabbing arses he really shouldn't and then complaining about getting shocked?" Lia asked dryly.

Balgruuf barked in laughter. "I could see you doing that, Alik'r! But… you are correct. Merchants bypass Falkreath and come to Whiterun. My only quarrel with the Alik'r is the incompetence of your kinsmen, which left with one rotting in prison for assault, and the rest hiding somewhere else. I have no desire to be on the wrong side of Hammerfell no matter where the dice may fall in this civil war."

Lia looked around the palace of Dragonsreach. It was a beautiful place full of warmth and comfort, the epitome of the old Nordic fortresses that resonated with her mother's blood. "Neutrality will soon no longer be an option," she warned him for his decency and honesty. "If the Empire doesn't burn your city for refusing them aid, Ulfric will – and the Stormcloaks have _two_ Tongues now. Ralof is focusing on Alduin for now but he is… prone to getting side-tracked, I suspect, and the Jarl of Windhelm will gladly use the Dragonborn's Voice… tactically."

Balgruuf grunted in disgust. "I was there when Torygg was murdered. There was no honest duel, Lia bint Rustem, not between a lad three years High King and a Jarl with the Voice. _That_ is the source of my… concern… with Ulfric as High King."

Lia raised an eyebrow, the only sign of her shock. "Ulfric used the _Voice_ in the duel? That's like pairing a barely Heated Alik'r against one of the Sword Saints!"

"Exactly." Balgruuf's expression was grim. "I have my problems with the Imperials but Torygg was my second cousin. If Ulfric had talked _to_ the lad, not _at_ him, he might have found the High King more sympathetic than he realised."

Lia sighed, shaking her head. "Your mercenaries saved me from exposure and wounds thanks to Galmar Stone-Fist insisting I kill an ice wraith to prove myself to the Stormcloaks. Apparently he was unhappy about me laying his brother on the floor after Rolff tried to strike me from behind."

"The Companions are no one's mercenaries, for all they are sellswords," Balgruuf corrected quietly. "Farkas seemed to think that you were worth trusting with a few bounties to pay back your bloodgeld. He is one of the primary recruiters for the heirs of Ysgramor."

The man-mountain with the fear of spiders had hinted as such. He seemed very keen on having her stop by Jorrvaskr and when Vilkas had asked why, simply replied, "Kodlak has dreamed of a Norc."

From the little Lia knew of the Companions, legend painted their leader the Harbinger as having prescience. And having the greatest warriors of Skyrim on her side couldn't be a bad thing.

"You've made things complicated, Jarl Balgruuf," Lia finally said aloud. "I… have a certain amount of discretion in how I complete my duties. But my orders were plain: secure an alliance between Hammerfell and a Skyrim free of the Empire and either prevent Alduin's return or hasten his demise. I understand your position but I cannot deviate from either command, however much leeway I have to creatively interpret it."

Balgruuf nodded slowly, lips pursed. "I understand. I… cannot protect you from the Thalmor, though I'll not hand you over to them."

Lia's smile was grim. "I can handle a few Justicars. To become Twice-Folded amongst the Alik'r, you need to hunt down and execute a Justicar."

Balgruuf's snort was rueful. "I can imagine. You can start the bounties tomorrow. Lydia is bored at Breezehome and looks forward to the… exercise."

Lia nodded. "If I may withdraw then, Jarl Balgruuf?"

"You are dismissed."

As she marched out, Lia decided to creatively interpret some of her orders.

…

Two days later, a neat row of heads adorned Balgruuf's floor – laid on furs to stop the blood from staining the floorboards – and Lydia had a faintly awestruck expression on her face as she dragged up the chest of loot that she and Lia had liberated from the bandits. The Alik'r woman had arranged the heads in order of 'who was worth unsheathing my blade for' and given the location of a large cache of mammoth meat and ivory from the poachers at Halted Stream Camp. Avenicci, who'd returned from his business representing Balgruuf at one of Elenwen's wretched soirees, regarded the Norc with a faintly sick expression.

_Was it a simple matter of wanting a bribe or something else?_ Balgruuf sank into his well-worn wool plush cushions, examining his Steward with a hooded gaze. While he deplored Lia's actions, he couldn't fault her when Saadia was a traitor to the Redguards. Who knew what information she'd passed on about Whiterun to the Thalmor?

Proventus flipped open the chest – battered from being carted across the plains – and removed a wealth of silver ore, a few enchanted weapons and some armour, and a few uncut gems. "Where did you get all of this?" he asked, hands shaking a little.

"Turned out that the ones in Halted Stream Camp were not only poaching mammoths and trapping people in a pit trap, but also mining iron ore to turn into silver with a particular Alteration spell," Lia answered quietly. "Shame they were scum – they could have had a good thing going there."

Farengar pulled out one of the chunks of silver, examining it thoughtfully. "Decent transmutation," he observed, glancing at Lia. "Your work?"

"Some of it. I didn't know the spell and it took most of my magicka for each attempt," she admitted. "So something I'd likely save for an emergency."

"My Jarl, I'd say based on the straight value of the enchanted goods alone, plus the bounties, the bloodgeld for Saadia is paid," Avenicci said reluctantly. "However, I would advise that this woman be banned from the Hold because she belongs to a dangerous paramilitary group that seeks to undermine the White-Gold Concordat."

"The White-Gold Concordat doesn't apply to Hammerfell because we threw the Dominion out," Lia pointed out mildly.

"But you attempted to escape from Helgen with the Stormcloaks!" Avenicci argued. "Allowed Ulfric to put a knife to General Tullius' throat and executed an Imperial Captain yourself!"

"Better to die fighting than on my knees before the headsman's block," Lia answered softly. "I'm surprised General Tullius would be so open about his humiliation, Steward Avenicci. The Alik'r profile on him states the military governor to be a reserved, humourless man prone to holding a grudge."

_That's fairly accurate,_ Balgruuf conceded silently. "She has paid her bounty – more than paid it with that silver – and is free to go on the condition that she does not perform any more… unsanctioned judicial actions within Whiterun's territory."

"She openly belongs to a paramilitary group allied to the Stormcloaks! By condoning her presence in Whiterun, you signal to the Empire that you support Ulfric!"

"By allowing a member of Hammerfell's elite warrior order to travel freely barring any more… incidents, I am maintaining an important trade alliance!" Balgruuf barked in reply. "Why can no one else but me see this civil war is exactly what the Dominion wants?"

"My Jarl, Ambassador Elenwen has expressed her desire for peace and cooperation between the Aldmeri Dominion and Skyrim!" Avenicci had developed that stubborn goatish expression.

"And Ondolemar, the chief Justicar in Markarth, has blatantly stated that the peace between the Dominion and the Empire will exist for as long as the Altmer want it to," Balgruuf retorted, voice slipping into dangerous softness. "Give me an honest enemy any day."

"Which, I imagine, will be just long enough for the veterans of the Great War to die off or be murdered and the rest of Tamriel think there'll never be another war," Lia agreed grimly. "Having helped myself to a number of Thalmor files in the past, I can tell you that they refer to the Great War as 'the First War against the Empire'."

"And the imperialist talk of the Redguards' High King Sura has not gone unnoticed by the Empire," Avenicci retorted flatly. "What _are_ the Alik'r's plans concerning Skyrim, Lia bint Rustem al-Aurelii, Thrice-Forged of the Alik'r, niece to the Grand Master – a renegade Blade no less! – and second only to your uncle on the Thalmor's most wanted heretics' list."

"A Skyrim free from the Empire," Lia responded, regarding Avenicci with the mildness of a fox watching a wing-clipped chicken in its pen. "Despite the exalted status that the Thalmor give me – thirty thousand septims, so I hear, for the descendants of Aurelia Northstar, Hero of Kvatch – I am not privy to whether High King Sura wants to conquer Cyrodiil or not. But Skyrim, both because of its resources and the pureblood Nords, is a better ally than vassal. The Sons of Sand and Snow would be invincible as allies – and _that_ is a union that the Thalmor fear above all other things."

_Her lineage is… impressive,_ Balgruuf mused. Lia's frankness – confirmed by Farengar's truth-reading abilities – had given the Jarl much to think about. She wasn't intimidated by him, a fine thing in his opinion, and as Norcs went she was rather attractive.

The Jarl leaned back and watched the argument with hooded eyes. Yes, he had much to think about concerning this Alik'r woman.


End file.
